Rowing and steering device for boats



April 10, 1951 P. c. TABBERT I ROWING AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS Filed Aug. 6, 1948 INVENTOR. @a/ 6 Tafierf BY ormfd fa tented Apr. l0, 95i

UNITED STATES PA-TEN T ROWING-AND STEERING DEVICE FOR BOATS Paul C. Tabbert, Bridgman, Mich. Application August 6, 1948, Serial-N0.-42,947

ing propeller which is adapted for mounting at the stern of a boat and being 'manipulated'for steering and propelling the boat with one hand,

thus well adapting the propeller for the use of fishermen and'hunters.

Second, to provide a' propeller having these advantages which may be very easilymanipulated for'boththe propelling and steering of the boat, and onewhich is substantially noiseless in operation, unless carelessly manipulated.

Third, to provide a propeller assembly which may be detachably mounted on the stern board of boats largely used for fishing and hunting.

Fourth, to provide a propeller having these advantages which is simple and economical in structur -light in weight, and at the same'time emcient.

Further objects relating to details and econonnes of the invention will appear from the description to follow. The invention is defined inthe claims.

The drawings, of which there is one sheet, illustrate a preferred form of my embodiment, in which:

Figfl is a side elevational view illustrating-the propeller of my'invention as applied to a boat, the boat being conventionally illustrated as in Water, the operation of the propeller being indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 2; is a rear perspective view of a modified form of my propeller removed-from the boat, parts of the blade being broken away.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a modified form of the propeller.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the modified form of mounting for the propeller shown in Fig. 2'.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 represents a boat and 2 the stern board thereof, water being indicated at 3. The propeller assembly of my invention comprises the clamp 4 having a fixed jaw 5 and an adjustable clamping jaw 6 adapted to be detachably engaged with the boat as shown in Fig. 1.

The arm I is pivotally mounted on the clamp by means of the vertical pivot 8, the clamp being provided with a pair of ears 9 between which the arm is disposed to receive the pivot 8. The,

2 Claims. ((1115 29) 2 selectively engaged- .bythe pivot pin l2. The inper end of the shaftg-has n angularly disposed portion 13 provided with a-grip l;5. I heouter end of the shaft hasan endportion; l fi disposed at a slight angleto the main body of the shaft,

this portion lfi -having the pivot rod I! secured thereto adjacent the angle 18.

The pivot -rod has rearwardly offset pintles 19 which are-engaged by-thestrap-like knuckles 20- secured on-the up er edge of the flatbladej I, thus pivotally supporting the blade-at its upper edge. -The -knuckles- 2ll are preferably provided with a rubber liningor bushin 1-20, Which-minimizes noise. Theshaftprojectsbelow the pivot v rod to supportingly I engage the bladewentrally thereof, and; is preferably provided with a rubber resilient buffer :22. I

Thestop pin :23 projects rearwardly from the .shaft adjacentthe pivot rod; andisprovided with -a buffer; sleeve 24. "This stop limitsvthe up swing of the bladeon its pivots. The-cushioned stops ;minimizes noise. which -might result fromthefl'apping-of the blade from one position to anotheras the-propeller is manipulated. ;In manipulating the propeller for propelling ;the boat, the-angularly; disposed end I3v of ;the shaft is vgiven;a--pur nping moveinent or up'and down movement, whereby 0n} the -;dow n-' or'workw stroke of the propeller, the. -;outer=end'of the-shaft is swung rearwardly with the bladein'propelling position supported-by the lower end of theshaft as shown in Fig. -1.

The-dotted lines,- in-:Fig.;l show the propeller on the return stroke in which the blade swings upwardly as sh'own' bynidottedlinesdn Fig.1 until'the .endaof yth'e ypro'peller sis engaged-by the stop 23; however, as soon as the work stroke begins'the blade would swing down to the position shown by full lines shown in Fig. 1 or would swing by gravity toward that position if the work stroke did not begin immediately at the conclusion of the return stroke.

To steer the boat, the propeller shaft is mawith vertically spaced holes ll adapted to receive the pivot 12, the propeller may be adjusted for boats of different heights or drafts or for very shallow water, or to adjust the grip end of the propeller to the convenience of the operator.

The modified form of the propeller shown in Fig. 4 is identical to the propeller shown in Figs. 1 to 3 except that duplicate blades and blade mountings are provided. A second buffer 22A is also added for engagement with the upper blade. The effect of the double blade is to provide a working area that is twice the area of a single blade without losing the desirable features of a relatively long and narrow blade. A wide blade having a height or depth equal to the depth of two narrow blades would swing back to its working position much more slowly than the duplicate narrow blades because the returning action of the blades is similar to that of a pendulum and a short pendulum naturally has a shorter period than a longer one. The narrow blade also offers less resistance to motion through the Water due to motion of the boat and while the propeller is held stationary.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of mounting for the shaft 10. In this form of mounting the arm I and pin l2 carry a bushing 26 through which the shaft I0 extends. The upper end of the bushing is notched at diametrically opposed points as at 21 and the shaft I0 has a pin 28 extending therethrough' to be received in the notches. The shaft also carries a washer 29 and cotter pin 30 below the bushing which form an abutment for the coil spring 3!. The upper end of the spring 31 bears againstthe underside of thebushing 26 and serves to urge the shaft downwardly and retain the pin 28 in the notches 2'! and by lifting up on the shaft in against the compression of the spring 3|, the pin can be disengaged from the bushing and the shaft and propeller then reversed to back up the boat.

- I have illustrated and described my invention inseveral highly practical commercial embodimentsthereof. Itwill be appreciated that the several features of single or double-blade and fixed or reversible shaft can be variously combined as desired. I have not attempted to illustrate or describe other embodiments or adaptations, as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to embody or adapt my invention as may be desired. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: g

1. In a propelling device for boats, the combination of a support adapted to be secured to a boat at the stern thereof, a supporting arm mounted on said support for horizontal swinging movement, a generally vertical bushing pivotally mounted on said arm for vertical swingin movement and having upwardly opening notches in the upper end thereof, a lever shaft slidably mounted in said bushin and having an inwardly extending angularly disposed upper portion provided with a grip, a pin projecting from said shaft and engageable in said notches, a spring compressed between the bottom of said bushing .and a portion of said shaft to urge said pin into said notches, a pivot rod disposed transversely of said shaft in spaced relation to its outer end and having rearwardly offset pintles, a blade having pivot engaging knuckles on its upper edge coacting with said pintles to swingably support the blade at the rear of the shaft, a bumper mounted on the outer end of said shaft acting to limit the forward swing of said blade and engaging the blade centrally thereof on the work stroke of the car, and a rearwardly projecting stop mounted on said shaft adjacent said pivot rod to limit the up swing of the blade.

2. In a propelling device for boats, the combination of a support adapted to be secured to a boat at the stern thereof, a supporting arm mounted on said support for horizontal swinging movement, a generally vertical bushing pivotally mounted on said arm for vertical swinging movement and having an upwardly opening notch in the top thereof, a lever shaft slidably received in said bushing and having a projecting pin engageable in said notch, a spring compressed between the bottom of said bushing and a portion of said shaft to urge said pin into said notch, and a blade having a horizontal pivotal connection on its upper edge to said shaft above the bottom thereof to swingably support the blade at the rear of the shaft, the outer end of said shaft acting to limit the forward swing of said blade.

PAUL C. TABBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

. UNITED s'rrrrnsv PATENTS 

